CRASH (A Logan Brothers Novel) (12 page)

I sat there on the steps outside
of the Modern Art Museum, my head in my hands. His face when I kissed
him. He looked at me like I was mad or something.

I mean, what did I expect. He
was this millionaire businessman, a guy who ran a casino and a load
of other businesses. I was just a stupid little shy girl who he'd
taken pity on a couple of times. What, did I take that to mean he
liked me or something?

Idiot Elle
.

I don't know what came over me
though. The dance had been a blur. I'd been so nervous beforehand, I
didn't think I could go through with it. When it started, though, I
got lost into it. It was liberating, and when it ended, I couldn't
stop the adrenaline from rushing through my body.

It was like this surge of
excitement. I'd never felt anything like it before. The crowd were
clapping and cheering, cameras flashing and clicking. And then I saw
him, standing at the back of the crowd, his tall frame carrying his
eyeline over their heads.

He looked directly at me,
smiling. It was as if he knew I'd be there, like he had come down to
see me perform. I knew that wasn't the case, but in the moment that
thought kidnapped my mind.

I went straight for him, I
couldn't help it. That beautiful smile, those hazel eyes looking at
me in a way that made my legs go weak. The excitement got to me, and
I lunged for him. I could barely remember doing it now, but I knew it
had happened.

The numb feeling of humiliation
radiating through my body was enough to convince me of that.

Lexi was laughing in a sort of
funny consoling way. “Elle, seriously, it can't have been that
bad?”

“
It was worse,” I said
blankly, my voice muffled by my hands.

“
So you kissed him, big deal.
It's kinda romantic, don't you think?”

“
Err, yeah a completely
one-sided romance. He just looked at me like I was a fucking lunatic.
You didn't see his face Lex. It was like a mixture of shock and
disgust.”

She was still laughing. “It
can't have been that bad babe. You're acting like you've never been
rejected.”

Oh God. Rejected. What a
horrible word.

I took my head from my hands and
looked at her. “And you have?”

“
All the time!”

“
Bullshit. When would
you
ever get rejected?”

“
I used to when I was younger.
You didn't see me as a teen. I had this mouth full of braces and
these little skinny legs. The worst was this guy I liked at school,
Billy. He didn't just reject me. Literally, he actually got angry
that I asked him out. Angry! Can you imagine that?!”

“
What a douche.”

“
I know!”

I couldn't help but smile at
Lexi's honesty. And, of course, the idea of her as this skinny
teenage girl with braces. That was a funny image.

“
Look, lets grab lunch and
have a cocktail, take your mind off it. Alice is coming down with
Tess, we can have a girly day.”

“
Fine, but no mention of this
to them. I just know how Tess will react, and frankly, it's a little
close to home with Alice. So don't let it slip, all right?”

She nodded, her smiley face
still enjoying my pain.

“
Not a word.”

....

An hour or so later we sat in a
four at a nice little outdoor restaurant on the river. The sun was
out and streaming down onto our shoulders, the days turning warmer as
summer approached.

Tess was her usually buoyant
self, nattering away happily about all of the latest gossip she'd
heard over the last week or two. She was quite like Lexi actually.
They were both so smiley and bubbly, always looking to have fun and
make the best of any situation.

Alice was much more solemn, much
quieter. She had this air about her, this sort of gravitas as though
she was the leader, the queen bee. It wasn't like she was a bitch or
wanted that mantle. It was just her. She held an inner power, this
confidence. I didn't think much would phase her.

And yet, she was full of
mysteries. That conversation I'd heard her have with Kyle at the
twins birthday. I wondered what it was about that place, about that
hotel that she hated so much. This girl was strong minded and
unflappable.
What had happened there that shattered her calm?

I hadn't seen Tess since that
night. When she brought it up, I could sense Alice retreating back
into her shell a little bit.

“
So Elle,” Tess started, her
face smothered in this suggestive look, “I saw you leaving with
Crash Logan himself the other night. That was an interesting turn of
events?!”

Alice looked up at me as Tess
spoke, a look of slight surprise on her face. Clearly she didn't know
about it.

It was hard for me to answer her
while keeping my tone completely flat. I mean, that night had been a
disaster until Crash came along. I couldn't see what others had said
about him. This guy who plundered his way through life, not caring
who got in his way.

He had been made to sound a
brute, but that wasn't the guy I saw. Maybe he showed me a different
side. Maybe with me he had no reason to live up to the reputation
that had been built up around him. Maybe with me he could be himself.

“
Oh yeah” I said, “we just
had a drink upstairs in the hotel bar.”

“
Anddd?” Tess carried on,
dragging the word out, as if there was more to tell. There wasn't
really. Nothing of note.

“
And that's it.” My tone was
turning defensive. I did that when under the spotlight. It made me
seem guilty of something.

“
If you say so,” said Tess.
“I saw how you stared him down that first night you arrived. There
was a spark there. Something's going to happen between you two, I can
feel it.”

My mind turned back about an
hour.
Yeah, right.

“
I wouldn't go there if I were
you.” It was Alice, her words carrying a weight.

“
Hey come on Alice, you went
there with Kyle. And Crash, he's solar hot, like supernova hot.”

Alice's voice remained heavy, a
warning to it. “Kyle and Crash are very different people. Tess, you
know Crash's reputation. The things I've heard about him from Kyle.
He's not someone you want to know, trust me.”

My interest was way too piqued
to leave it at that.

“
What's wrong with Crash? He's
always seemed really nice to me.”

Alice went silent for a moment,
thinking.

“
There are things about him
that you wouldn't even want to know. He's very much his fathers son,
let's put it that way.”

His fathers son. What the hell
did that mean? I'd never met his father, I had no idea what he was
like. I looked over at Lexi, her eyes pricking up. It appeared she
probably knew what Alice was talking about.

“
What do you mean though?” I
asked. I couldn't lay this one to rest. “What did his father do?”

“
Think about it Elle. Look at
the sort of businesses his father built. Casino's, bars, strip clubs.
They deal in vice. You know what happens in that sort of world.”

“
What, like murder.” I said
it quickly, without thinking.

Alice's expression changed
immediately, her eyes dropping a little, her face losing some of its
color. She nodded, her tone now completely dry. “Probably, yeah.”

I sensed a deep turmoil raging
inside her, like she was battling some deepset guilt or something.
She clearly wasn't letting on all she knew.

“
Charles Logan was a horrible
man,” she said quietly, “and Crash is no different.”

The table went silent. What had
started as a friendly natter and gossip had descended into some sort
of serious drama, one I was finding myself increasingly embroiled in.

Alice seemed to have a deep
resentment towards Crash's father and Crash himself, and I had a good
idea of why that was the case.

From what Lexi had revealed to
me, Mr Logan had been the stumbling block in the way of her and Kyle
getting together. He'd ruled with an iron fist, or so she said, and
Alice probably hated him for it.

The rule had been passed to
Crash, and now he was the one causing them problems. He looked to be
carrying on in his fathers stead, keeping Kyle working at the strip
club, not giving their relationship his blessing.

For Alice, the eldest males in
the Logan clan had always been a thorn in her side. Kyle was next in
line and, the way she spoke, if Crash died I doubt she'd shed a tear.

In fact, she'd probably welcome
it.

Crash

The office I stood in wasn't the
type I was used to. It wasn't the sort of building I was used to. It
wasn't the sort of business I was used to.

The man standing ahead of me,
however, was the sort of man I had dealt with many times before. He
was a very rich man, the sort of man my father had done business with
often. Over the last few years I'd often be at his side as he groomed
me to be his successor.

I never expected to take up the
mantle so soon.

I'd also seen men like this at
my casino. Men like him turned up often for high-roller games: poker
and roulette and blackjack on private tables away from the main
casino floor. The pots at those games would often run into the
millions, and were a big moneymaker for us.

But the situation I found myself
in now was entirely new to me. I never expected to be in a position
like this at only 27 years old. That fact alone had made it hard for
me to convince the investors to move forwards with my plan.

But move forward they did.

The office I stood in was huge
and grand. Too much space and barely anything to fill it. There was
an area of comfortable chairs and a coffee table to one side of the
door as I entered. Ahead of me, a good 15 meters of open space from
the door, was a large wooden desk, a man sitting behind it, cigar
clenched between his teeth.

Behind him the city loomed, seen
through wide windows. We were right in the center, right at the top
of the highest building in town, the world at our feet. It was far
removed from the city streets, a place closer to where I conducted my
business. But I wanted to move higher, up into the stratosphere. And
the man sitting in front of me would help me do it.

I'd met with this same man, and
others, about a week ago. It had been the most important meeting of
my life, a chance for me to take the world by the balls and make my
mark. My age and inexperience stood against me, but my passion and
desire and ambition for success saw me through.

At least, that's what I was
told.

Now I stood in front of this
man, his expression bland and emotionless. His name was Walter
Lithgow, and he held my future in his hands.

“
Sit down please Mr Logan,”
he said as I walked in through the office towards his overly grand
desk.

I sat, a suspicion growing
inside of me. His face was more stark than it had been the week
before. He'd smiled and told me they were happy to move forward with
my proposal that day, happy to work with me to create a casino to
rival those in Vegas. It had been one of the most gratifying moments
of my life, my hard work rewarded.

But now. now he'd called me in
once again, and I knew something was up. His face was lost of its
smile, his eyes no longer bright. A feeling of dread settled in me, a
feeling that my great opportunity might be about to be snatched away.

“
I have some bad news Mr
Logan.”

Fuck.

“
I'm afraid we have talked
further about your proposal and have decided, on second thought, to
move in another direction.”

I clenched tight at the arms of
my chair, my fingers digging into the leather.

“
I understand that this is a
major blow for you, but please be assured that we will consider
working with you again in the future should our paths cross once
more.”

The fucking shit. This was it.
This was my one fucking chance for something huge. The plot, the real
estate: it was perfect for my proposal, completely goddamn fucking
perfect. I'd never have another opportunity as good.

I steadied my nerve and spoke,
my words cold as ice.

“
And what direction are you
choosing to go in, to shit on my dreams like this?”

“
Now hold on just a moment Mr
Logan. I'd have you watch your tongue.”

Watch my tongue? You better
watch your fucking back.

“
We are merely businessmen
looking to make as much money as possible. Regrettably the other
proposal may prove more lucrative.”

“
And what is it?” I asked
again, my jaw clenched.

“
A new housing development,”
he said bluntly. “It will provide an immediate return on
investment, and a sizeable one at that. We liked the idea of your
casino, but it will take a while to recoup our money.”